


Beginnings

by Big__Cheesing__Mirrors



Series: Babyblade Universe [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Bonding, Clay | Dream and Toby Smith | Tubbo are Siblings, Comfort, Feelings Realization, Friends to Lovers, Internalized Homophobia, Jealousy, M/M, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, Oblivious Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Panic Attacks, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Kissing, Smitten Technoblade
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:41:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28924506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Big__Cheesing__Mirrors/pseuds/Big__Cheesing__Mirrors
Summary: Techno meets a strange guy that bothers him while he’s trying to do his English work. They click pretty easy.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Sam | Awesamdude, Clay | Dream & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Wilbur Soot, Clay | Dream/Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Sam | Awesamdude & Technoblade, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade
Series: Babyblade Universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2118060
Comments: 20
Kudos: 460





	1. Hello

**Author's Note:**

> I can’t stop writing about them in the Babyblade universe ngl,, I just can’t stop.
> 
> I don’t even know if this is good but I hope you enjoy

Sometimes Techno wonders why he took a course that demanded such consistent focus; he had to read books that were hundreds of pages long and be able to recall details. He also had to be able to stay in that mindset to be able to analyse pieces of text.

In general, it should be and mostly was a nightmare. It's demanding but he did his best to keep on top of it most of the time, and, for the most part, he did very well at that.

Every now and then though, Techno would struggle to be able to focus in his dorm room. His roommate wasn't that bad and they were kind to him and generally considerate but Techno didn't want his roommate policing themselves all the time so he'd go sit in the library.

Now was one of those times; his roommate was going to have some friends over and Techno needed to start doing some of his english homework. It didn't bother him and his roommate gave him a bottle of water to go with, which was very sweet of them.

Carrying a laptop with him around, even when he was just going to the library, was still a bit wild to him, he'd gotten used to it but he couldn't help the sneaking thoughts of, 'what if I just put it down somewhere and forgot about it?' It hadn't happened so far but that didn't mean much in the grand scheme of things.

When he arrived at the library, Techno got a smile from one of the pleasant older librarians that worked there. He'd spoken to her before, she seemed fond of him and didn't mind trying to keep his usual spot away from any noise available for him.

Sighing, Techno settled down at the empty spot and placed his laptop onto the desk, scrolling through the words he'd already written quickly and scanning them as he went. Some time went by and he was able to get some work done, quickly proofreading as he went along.

Unfortunately, though, someone sitting opposite him pulled him from his working trace and dragged his attention to the person in front of him. He didn't want to assume but the person looked more masculine-presenting.

They had soft-looking blonde locks that were longer at the top and a slightly babyish face with bits of baby fat that still was there. Techno supposed he couldn't really talk, the only thing that made people not think he was 15 was his height, at least this person looked older.

Overall though, they were very conventionally attractive, what with the eyes and nervous smile that tugged at his heart for some reason.

"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting, it-it's just that it's quiet over here and I-I struggle with noise," The person seemed to notice they were starting to ramble and quickly shut their mouth. Techno couldn't fault them too much for sitting with him, especially if they had a hard time focusing too.

"It's fine," Tech mumbled then cleared his throat, sitting up slightly then looking back down at his work, trying to appear casual. "If you don' mind me askin', what pronouns do you use?"

They seemed to brighten up for a moment before realising he asked a question, "He, uhh, I use he and him pronouns. What do you use?"

When he wasn't panicking the boy in front of him had a very soothing voice, it was low but not lower than his own. It had a very gentle undertone to it that made Techno clear his throat and force his eyes back to his laptop.

"Same as you, he," Techno grumbled, trying not to watch the guy in front of him. His green hoodie was distracting to begin but he seemed to be nice enough.

He's only here because it's quiet, Techno reminded himself. 

That thought seemed to be what he needed to at least draw his attention back to the work he was supposed to be doing. He tried reading back through the paragraph he was meant to be doing at that time but found he kept rereading the same beginning of a line, over and over. 

It doesn't help that the boy in front of him was tapping his foot while he was doing whatever work he had. 

God, what was he going to do now? He couldn't just leave that would probably make the guy in front of him seem like he interrupted and probably make him feel bad but also couldn't do his work, there wants enough there that he could focus on.

Reading could be something he could do, he was surrounded by books after all. With his mind made up, he saved the document he was on and closed the laptop, standing up. The guy that sat in front of him glanced up and seemed to cringe, clearly thinking it was his fault, well that was something he really didn't want to happen.

Techno moved his laptop to the side and took a step away from it, deciding to go wander that rows of books, trusting that the stranger would make sure his things were safe. Why he trusted the strange man? He didn't know or maybe it was because the man was pretty. The thought made Techno flush slightly and shake his head.

Quickly, he moved towards shelves that held books he knows he likes. 

Sometimes it's just nice to read about old Chinese war strategists. He's already memorised where the book is in the library and goes through the motions easily.

When he gets back to the desk with his book, the stranger is still there and looks relieved that Techno was back. It makes amusement swell in him as he watches the other try to go back to doing his work as if nothing had happened.

Techno takes a deep breath as he sits down in his seat again, opening the book. 

"What's your name?" The question is asked out of nowhere and it startled him a bit, but when he glanced up to see the blond watching him with pink cheeks, he snorts and raises an eyebrow.

"Technoblade," He says, watching the person think on it for a moment. He doesn't know why this guy would be thinking about his name but to each their own.

"That's weird," He blurts out, seemingly surprising both Techno and himself at the words that came out his mouth. "I like it. It's different. Not that I could really criticise your name considering my name is Dream."

Techno couldn't help but snort at him. His little rambling moments were cute. In his amusement, he glanced up to this Dream guy and watched him rub the back of his neck.

"It's fine," Dream shuffles in his seat as Techno doesn't say much afterwards, so in his merciful state, he closes the book and looks at Dream's laptop. "What are you taking?"

"I'm taking IT, what are you doing?"

"English," Dream's eyebrows raise in surprise and Techno rolls his eyes at the reaction. "I know, people have said I don't look like someone to take it."

"No, no! I just can't imagine taking it myself, takes a lot of reading. I'm not the best at that," Techno eyes him and shrugs his shoulders, Dream seemed to have closed his laptop too now and from just behind Dream he could see his librarian friend watching them.

"I don't think I'd enjoy doin' IT or codin' so good thing we aren't taking each other's subject," Dream nodded then leaned back in his seat, moving a hand up to run it through his hair.

It moved his hair in a way that made some pieces fall onto his forehead more and made it messy. 

Now, Techno hadn't really thought much about who he liked before or if he was just into women but Techno really couldn't deny he found this guy he just met very attractive.

Well, it didn't matter if he thought Dream was attractive, he could objectively say that another person is attractive without being attracted to them. 

After their interaction, Dream opened his laptop again and started typing again and Techno was left to be able to dwell in his thoughts and continues reading his book.

—————————————

They ended up having a sort of routine after their first meeting, they'd somehow just clicked and Techno found himself looking forward to going to the library almost everyday to meet his new blond friend.

He'd learnt that Dream, while being very capable and intelligent, was dumb. 

There was no way around that, not when Techno clearly remembered Dream asking him if he could see through his laptop when he'd guessed what food he was eating, despite having told Techno about what he would be getting earlier. Or the time Dream was very tired and asked Techno how big a projector people would need to make the sky green since it's his favourite colour.

Dream was especially dumb when he was tired and Techno could feel the sparks of joy ignite in him when he saw Dream wander over looking tired, he sat down in front of him then very gently placed his head down onto the table.

"Well aren't you full of energy?" Techno grinned when he saw the scathing look Dream sent him. But as much as he enjoyed watching tired Dream he wasn't usually this tired so it would just be cruel to encourage him to do dumb things.

Dream pushing himself off the desk and standing up next to Techno's chair was something he didn't expect, "Techno d'you want to come to the cafe with me?"

It was lucky Techno decided not to bring any of his usual stuff for studying.

"Sure, I'm payin' this time," Dream looked to him with a slight pout but Techno just shook his head. "No, you paid last time, it's my turn."

He only smiles as he watches Dream fall into step with him. Techno waves a hand at his favourite librarian as they leave, only to receive a sly look from her in response.

"Are we going to the one I work at?" Dream mumbled, glancing over to him as they wandered down the sidewalk side by side.

"Might as well, it's pretty close," He answered, grabbing Dream's arm and pulling him closer when Dream almost walked into other people.

Dream hummed and wiggled his arm out of his grip before Techno felt Dream intertwine their fingers. Techno glanced over at the other for a moment and just watched him blink tiredly.

A weird feeling wormed its way into his chest at the warmth from Dream's hand.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" He asks, guiding Dream into the cafe.

They sat down at the table in the window, it was Dream's spot in the cafe.

"I've just been busy with coding and learning," Techno raised an eyebrow at him for a moment. "Forgot to take my medication and I, uhh I had hyperfocus on coding and shit. Didn't sleep for like a day or something?"

Sighing, Techno stood up, he completely understood what he meant. He gently pushed a palm against his forehead, Dream's head went back with the push.

"What'd you want to drink, nerd?"

"Can I have a hot chocolate, please?" Techno eyed him incredulously but shrugged at the request and went towards the counter to order.

He had to wait a moment since there was a small queue, though it didn't take long for him to reach the front.

The woman that is going to serve him seems very unhappy. No wonder with what he heard from the past customer.

Now, while he may not like social interaction, he's not going to be rude to people doing their jobs. Especially not if they've already had a customer that sucked before him. 

"Hi, can I have a latte and a hot chocolate, please?" The cashier smiled at him and nodded, typing the order into a machine.

"Would you like whipped cream and marshmallows with that?"

Techno glanced over to Dream, half-asleep and leaning on his hand as he typed on his phone, "Yes please."

"Okay, that'll be $7.10." The lady smiled, he gave a slight smile back, handing over $10 and muttering a thank you. "We'll bring it over to you when it's ready."

When he was given change, he placed it in the little jar before going back to Dream.

"Thank you, Tech," Techno glanced to his friend and shook his head.

"No problem," Techno sighed and leaned back in his chair for a moment, looking at the tired man in front of him, who he now called a friend.

It hadn't even been two weeks since Dream wormed his way into Techno's life but he was so thankful for it. He didn't have many friends, so he was glad Dream was with him now.

Giggles from the counter of the store broke his thoughts as another lady walked towards them with a tray that had their drinks on it.

The girl placed their drinks in front of them and Techno smiled briefly before looking down at his drink. The thought it was sweet that they served the drinks with saucers and little napkins.

He noticed that the girl lingered for a minute before disappearing. 

"D'you know anyone one in today?" He asked, waking his sleepy friend up a little more.

Dream raised his head and looked over to the counter where they were working, a couple were watching them for some reason, and squinted at them. Then he shook his head.

"Nope, they work different shift to me. Probably different days too." He mumbled, looking down at the drink in front of him.

The drink was cute and suited Dream well, it had little pink marshmallows and was piled high with whipped cream.

"You got marshmallows and cream for me?" Dream's voice got high pitched as he asked. Techno just nodded. "Aww! Technoblade, you're a sweetie."

Techno lowered his head to let his hair cover his face as his cheeks got warm and grumbled a thanks.

When his face felt less warm, he looked up and saw Dream take a sip from the cup without a care in the world.

He noticed there was black writing scrawled on the napkin underneath the drink and was about to tell Dream when he looked up at him again and saw the cream on his face.

Obviously, since he's a good friend, he laughed at him. Then Dream frowned and rubbed his face with his sleeves; it was adorable he looked like a little bunny.

He voiced as much, "Aww, you look like a little bunny, Dream."

The answer he got was a scowl when he lowered his sleeves from his face. "Fuck you."

Techno choked on his own spit at the curse; sure, they hadn't been friends for long but there wasn't once, even when Dream was frustrated, that he had cursed.

It took a moment for Techno to compose himself, then another for him to even remember that he was going to tell Dream something.

"Right. Dream, there's something on your napkin," Dream tilted his head and lifted his drink with one hand then pulled the napkin out with the other.

He stared at it for a moment before seeming to realise what it was. Dream's head shot up to look at him, eyes wide in surprise.

"It's a number." 

Why Dream looked so surprised, Technoblade didn't know.

"It's like you don' realise you're pretty, Dream." Techno laughed, only to stop when Dream's mouth opened slightly.

Dream glanced from him to the number and looked slightly overwhelmed. He took the little spoon from the saucer and shovelled some of the cream into his mouth.

"Bruhhh," Techno drawled, leaning back into his chair more. "Don't you have a girlfriend, man? Doesn't she tell you you're pretty?"

"Oh, uh, no. She doesn't really do verbal affection," Dream rubbed the back of his neck. "Am I actually pretty?"

Techno stared in disbelief at the man in front of him. Surely, even if she didn't do verbal affection, letting her partner know that he was beautiful was something that would happen anyway.

Besides, he's pretty sure they had a conversation that had derailed at some point and they got to this sort of topic and Dream told him that he really loved and kind of needed verbal affection from his friends and partners.

"Dude," Techno leaned towards him, he felt his face get warm again but he ignored it. "You are probably the prettiest person here."

The shy smile and Dream ducking his head was all he needed to overpower the slight embarrassment he felt.

A peaceful silence settled between them. Techno took the quiet time to start drinking his latte before it got cold.

"You're pretty too, you know?" It was said quietly in the shy tone that Techno had only heard from Dream a couple of times.

Techno scoffed, rolling his eyes and attempting to ignore how his face started heating up again, "Shut up. You realise you could just take a compliment Dream, you don't have to return one."

"No, no! Really, Techno, your hair's really pretty and I like how you do it." He then smiled and laughed to himself. "Your eyes are probably the most stunning ones I've ever seen."

Techno raised an eyebrow at him but didn't bother disputing it. Dream just needed glasses clearly.

"Yeah, sure, coming from you." He remarked closing his eyes for a moment.

"Yes, Technoblade, coming from me," Techno's eyes burst open at the change in Dream's voice.

It was low and so sure. His voice just sounded like honey when he said it, so smooth and rich. He was even leant forwards with all the confidence of a king. The way he said his name was the worst, why did he have to say his full name like that?

Techno blinked for a moment before choking on air.

"Tech! Are you alright?" Techno nodded but continued to cough, pushing his face into his hands.

He took a moment to catch his breath again before grabbing his drink and gulping half of it down. Looking up at Dream revealed he was still watching him with concern.

After he'd calmed down, they stayed in the cafe until they'd both finished their drinks. Due to Techno downing half his drink at once, it was Dream who finished his drink last. They talked through them finishing their drinks though, it was nice and more like how their usual outings go.

When they got up to go, the girl who delivered their drinks approached them and smiled apologetically.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were," She gestured between them for a moment. "Yeah. Um. I hope you have a nice day."

Dream looked relatively confused but smiled soothingly, "Don't worry about it, I hope you have a nice day too."

Techno gently grabbed his hand and tugged at it for a moment, helping draw his focus back to what they were doing.

They walked out of the cafe together and, despite Dream not living near him in the dorms, continued walking in the direction Techno went.

"What d'you think she meant?" Dream asked, manoeuvring to have their hands joined again.

"Gonna take a wild shot in the dark here, Dream," He drawled, raising their joint hands. "She probably thinks we're together."

"That's dumb," Dream announces. "I'm allowed to compliment my guy friends and be physically affectionate with them. Girls do it all the time!"

Techno smiled at the outburst, happy to listen to his friend.

"It's like a double standard."

"Exactly, exactly. Why is it that anytime I show my love for my friends, people question my sexuality but as soon as a girl does it they're just-" Dream paused in his sentence, looking over to him sheepishly. "Sorry. The rambling is annoying."

Frowning, Techno looked across to his friend again. The sheepish look was now replaced by one that just hurt his heart. To try comfort Dream, he squeezed his hand.

"It's not annoyin', who told you that?" Techno tried to keep his unhappiness in check but there was only so much he could do.

Who would say to someone with ADHD that their rambling is annoying? Sometimes it just happens and making them feel bad about it just makes another person feel bad.

If Phil could deal with him and Tommy at once, then multiple people could deal with listening to someone you'd presume is their friend.

"It- I... well, my girlfriend asked me not to because it annoyed her friends and her. And my parents used to say it." Dream said, looking down at his feet as they walked.

He sincerely hopes his girlfriend's just uninformed.

"Don' bother leavin' it out for me then. I do it too." Techno laughed, remembering once he'd gotten so deep into a book series that when he finished the books he'd talked Phil's ear off for at least an hour.

To his credit, Phil didn't once complain or tell him to shut up. Even if he did pass the hour mark.

He told Dream the story when the silence between them stretched on.

"Is Phil your dad?"

"Sorta, he's our dad since he adopted me and my siblings but we don’t really ask much about before that," Techno explained, a hand reaching up to move stray hairs from his face.

"Do your siblings look like you?" Dream's asked, head moving up from the floor.

"Wilbur does, he's the oldest, we have the same hair colour and we used to be a similar height but he's taller than me now," Techno cringed before continuing. "My younger brother doesn't, blonde hair, blue eyes."

Dream hummed, nodding to show he's listening, "Is there much of an age gap between you all?"

"What is this twenty questions?" Techno joked. "But uhh, Tommy, the younger one, he's five years younger than me, he's like 13? Or something I think."

"My brother's the same age," Dream smiled fondly to himself. "We don't look anything alike really. He's got brown hair and eyes, I haven't. He's got a British accent too but I think he's got a pretty good American accent when he tries."

"Yeah?"

"Mm, he likes tech too, I think he hacked a minecraft server at some point." Techno laughed at that, he somehow saw Dream doing that at some point too. He may not have but, it was funny to think of.

"Well, here we are," Techno muttered, squeezing Dream's hand then letting go of it. 

"I'll see you again sometime, Techno," Dream smiled, waving a hand then turning on his heel and walking in the direction they'd come from.

Techno rolled his eyes but watched him for a moment, then turned around and went back inside his dorm room.


	2. Uh Oh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream doesn’t have a good time then Techno comes to the realisation that maybe he doesn’t just like Dream as a friend.
> 
> ——————  
> Just as a warning there are two scenes that are negative and I want y’all to be aware so if you need to skip you can.  
>  The first one starts at ‘ “You alright?” ‘ and ends at ‘ Dream sniffled for a last time ‘
> 
> The second one starts at ‘ A whine escapes his throat’ and ends at ‘ Dream took a couple breaths ‘.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! Writing the Babyblade universe is sort of becoming my escapism so I hope you enjoy and I have other things planned for after they’ve got Emma.   
> Also I’m not very experience at the whole liking another person thing so if you have any criticism I’ll be glad to see how I can improve!
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy! :)

Techno spun around slightly in front of the mirror, checking if he looked good. He paused, staring at himself. He had to go.

Pursing his lips, he shook his head and took a breath. This outfit was too simple, it was just a top and jeans. Perhaps the jeans weren't too bad, they were but he needed to change the top.

He decided to just have a white button-up shirt. Did he look too formal for just a movie night? Yeah, but he felt good. 

The white button-up, skinny black jeans and the boots he'd be wearing made him look good, in his opinion at least.

He smoothed out his shirt with a sigh, then moved a hand to run it through his hair. It was loose and ran over his shoulder, he should tie his hair up.

Turning around he took a hair tie off the bedside table then pulling his hair up into a ponytail. Quickly, he checked his hair in the mirror, it was slightly bumpy up top so he took it down and did it again. This time, it looked a lot better.

He still needed to go. He was meant to go by now.

Even still, he continued to stare at himself in the mirror. He didn't understand why he dressed up this much; Dream first met him in clothes that weren't fancy at all, he wouldn't mind.

He glanced over at the clock in the room and frowned. God, he really needed to leave, Dream's shift would be over soon.

Slowly, he took a deep breath and stepped away from the mirror. He patted his back pocket to make sure he had his phone then reached for his boots and put them on.

Rolling his shoulders, he started walking towards the cafe to greet Dream at the end of his shift. It wasn't the first time they'd done this, so why was he nervous now? 

A very quiet whisper from the back of his mind told him he knew the answer but was shielding away from it.

Before he knew it, he was standing in front of the door. Techno was slightly surprised to see it already but he blamed his surprise on not paying attention to where he was and being lost in thought.

Gently, he pushed the door open and noticed one of the baristas he knew was at the front. It seemed the barista, Sam, also saw him as a grin grew on his face as he watched Techno carefully.

"Dream! Your boyfriend's here!" Techno tried not to blush at the exclamation but, judging by the look Sam gave him, he didn't do a very good job at that.

"Okay, tell Techno I'll be out in a minute!"

Techno paused. His brain lagged behind at the easy response. Did he not bother to care that Sam just called them boyfriends? What?

"You heard the man," Sam smiled to him but it was sharp and the way he eyed Techno after he'd paused was analytical.

"Yeah," The look turned sharper when his voice cracked in his response. One of the other people that worked with Dream, he thinks her name was Alyssa, came and stood by Sam. Upon seeing the look Sam had while watching Techno, he had another sharp look directed at him.

It had him shuffling on the spot and tugging at his sleeves. In all honesty, he didn't know what made the shift since the last time he visited Dream while he was on shift. 

Last time, sure, there was a slight look from Sam but this time it almost felt hostile and made unease curl in his gut. It was protective and Techno didn’t know why Sam would be protective of Dream from him.

"Hey, Techno, you ready to-" Dream walked out and noticed the tension permeating in the room. "Everything alright?"

Techno glanced over to him and shuffled on his feet moving closer to him. Narrowing his eyes, he turned to his coworkers with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you doing?" 

Sam smiled gently to Dream and shook his head, moving closer to ruffle Dream's hair, "Calm down, we weren't hurting your boyfriend."

Dream snorted and rolled his eyes, taking a quick glance over to him and scanning his face to make sure he wasn't lying. 

During the moment he was watching Techno, he noticed that Dream had bags under his eyes and his eyes looked slightly dull. Huh.

"Better not have been, I'll kick your ask if you do anything to my boyfriend," Dream joked, upon realising Sam was telling the truth. He threw an arm around Techno's shoulders.

"Alright, c'mon then we've got a movie to watch," Techno muttered, gently pulling at his hand. Similarly to how he did when they got confused as a couple.

"Have a nice date!" Sam yelled jokingly as they walked out, Dream joined their hands and raised them in response.

Once they were walking towards where Dream was living, the blond turned to look at him, "So, what are we going to be watching this time?"

"Can we watch the princess bride?" Dream looked over to him and looked slightly surprised. There was still the dullness to his eyes and it hurt to see. He'd have to ask Dream how he was.

"Yeah, yeah. That sounds good," Dream muttered, squeezing his hand lightly.

They walked towards Dream's house in silence after that. It only made Techno worry more; Dream isn't a quiet person with his friends.

He glanced over to his friend briefly and noticed the slight downward pull of his mouth. Techno felt his brain go into overdrive, thoughts of why Dream was upset and what caused it rushed around his head.

Once they got to his house, Techno greeted Dream's mother as she was where he could see her.

"How are you Technoblade?" She leant against the doorframe with a friendly smile, a hand resting on her hip. Her eyes briefly clipped down to their hands but she didn't seem to be overly bothered by it.

"I'm good, ma'am. How are you?"

"Oh, I've been busy, Technoblade, my son over there doesn't know how to take care of himself," She jokingly huffed then laughed.

It made him glance over to his friend, who had a smile that looked convincing but didn't change that there wasn't that little glint in his eyes. He blew air through his nose in amusement and nodded, just wanting to help Dream.

"I know, I'm glad he's got you at home to take care of him when I'm not here," He tried to joke but it came out a bit too sincere and made his chest tighten in fear when she tilted her head.

"Of course," She smiled. "Well, go on you two. Go have fun or whatever you do."

There was a playful wink towards them before she laughed and waved a hand, turning around and going back into the living room.

Dream took another step and guided him upstairs, towards his room. For some reason, it made his heart stutter, despite having done this multiple times before.

When they reached his room, he let go of Techno's hand and flopped down onto his bed, curling around a stuffed bear on his bed.

Gently, he shut the door behind him and walked over to the bed. He tugged his shoes off before sitting cross-legged on the bed in front of Dream.

"You alright?" He asked, reaching a hand out and running it through the blond locks, moving some of it behind his ear.

A shaky breath came from Dream and he noticed his eyes getting glassy. Carefully, Techno pulled Dream up and hauled him into his lap.

Immediately, Dream wrapped his arms around Techno's neck and buried his face in the crook of his neck. 

He may not have been equipped to deal with this but by hell was he going to let his friend be hurt and let him not be comforted.

"Techno," The whine from him just pulled at his heart.

"I'm here," He whispered. Tucking his head into the side of Dream's head just above his ear.

It may not have been much but, when Techno was having a panic attack or when he'd had an awful day and there was nothing that could calm him down, Phil would whisper that to him. He'd hold him and whisper 'I'm here', just letting Techno break down in his arms.

"I'm sorry," He whispered, repeating the words until they felt meaningless to Techno. 

Heartbreaking was all he could describe it as. Dream was always bubbly, always a joy to be around and such a beautiful light.

Techno leaned back and cupped Dream's face, running his thumbs under his eyes. His eyes scanned over his face and remained on his lips for a moment before snapping away when he realised what was happening.

"What happened?" He asked, voice shaky.

A bitter laugh left Dream's throat and he leaned against Techno's hand.

"She broke up with me," He whispered and the tears started falling immediately. "She cheated on me and left me. I don't know what I did, we've been so good for months."

"What you did?"

"She-she said it was my fault? I don't understand?" Dream pushed his face down to burrow his head back into Techno's shoulder.

Techno rubbed his back as he thought over his words. She said it was his fault?

"What do you mean?" He asked, easing his fingers through his hair.

"I thought I did everything right? I thought she wouldn't do this again. I can't." He tightened his grip on the back of Techno's shirt then pulled back, sniffling.

"I'm sorry I'm not able more help but you can talk about anything like this with me," Techno muttered. "You're good. You don't deserve that."

"Thank you," Dream laughed weakly, reaching his hands up to wipe at his eyes roughly. At least he was taking deep breaths.

Techno was glad he could calm his friend down when he was upset. He didn't like seeing Dream cry.

They sat in silence for a while, with Dream sat on his lap slowly calming himself down as he rubbed his back.

Dream sniffled for a last time then laughed to himself, "You look handsome today, by the way, Techno."

He desperately wanted to play off the compliment but his saliva got thick and it made it difficult to swallow.

"Thank you," He whispered, ducking his head forwards, ending up leaning his head against Dream's shoulder.

"Tech?" Techno hummed in answer still trying to cool his face, his voice was still weak and watery. "Would it be okay if I kissed you?"

His heart stuttered for a moment. The only logical thing for Techno to do was let his stupid impulsive brain answer, "Yeah." 

There was his brain's answer, just a simple answer as if he hadn't just asked a very heavy question. For Techno at least.

"Gotta kiss the homies," Dream mumbled, hands moving to hold Techno's face and tilt his head up again.

It turned out he did not mean actual kissing on the mouth. Techno didn't know how he felt about that. On one hand, his head said that's good, clearly that's what he meant.

Oh, but then his heart. It hurt and ached when Dream's face got closer but just to plant a kiss beneath his eye. Yet it still sped up in its beating.

Obviously, the other man was just making sure he wasn't crossing any boundaries of Techno's in terms of touch when he asked. He understood and appreciated that and sure it warmed his heart when he first thought of it then the crushing disappointment that he didn't get an actual kiss washed over him.

Apparently, the kiss under his eye wasn't all though. He felt the disappointment slowly be washed away too when he realised these were good too; platonic kisses were good. He liked them.

Techno smiled and laughed when Dream just peppered kisses all over his face. Part of the dullness in his eyes went away too which could only be good.

"Thank you for letting me do this," Dream whispered against his temple. "The only other one of my guy friends that let me do this is Sam."

Weird sadness and hurt curled under his ribs at the words, he didn't know why but he wasn't going to bring it up.

"'S nice." He drawled, tilting his head further into Dream's hand. "I don't mind it."

The gentle smile that he received from Dream made him want to freeze the moment to have that smile on Dream's face forever. He looked fond.

"We need to watch the princess bride," Dream stated, voice still a bit weak. His eyes crinkled at the edges as they watched each other. "Imagine if my mom walked in right now."

Techno flushed at that. Immediately, he gently pushed Dream off his lap, only to receive cackling laughter from his friend. 

"Put the movie on, fiend," Techno teased, poking Dream in the ribs, smiling when he squirmed away from him.

Dream grinned and slipped off his bed to grab his laptop then return on the bed. He quickly logged onto Netflix and typed in the name.

"This the right one?" Dream asked the cursor was hovering over the movies poster. 

"Yeah," Techno nodded, shuffling closer to Dream and his stuffed bear. Dream pressed play on the movie and settled down against the bear.

Techno watched Dream's side profile for a moment. He had such long eyelashes.

It took a moment for Techno to realise what he was doing and snap his attention back to the movie. He didn't know what was happening but it just kept happening.

——————————

Another week goes by before Techno finally catches on to what might be happening. The only reason he even has a suspicion is thanks to his older brother.

Wilbur wanted to talk to him about something he didn't want to talk to Phil about. 

It turned out Wilbur had started liking a girl called Sally. Techno couldn't help it at one point, he interrupted Wilbur's rambles, "What's that like?"

"What do you mean?" He'd responded, Techno noticed he'd tilted his head on the screen.

"Liking a person?" Techno answered watching his brother think about it before opening his mouth.

"I mean, I don't know if it's universal but I get nervous when I'm about to see her or I'm more excited than I should be when I do see her. Uh, I guess my thoughts are mostly consumed by her? I think she's the most wonderful person in the world and, uh, I like talking about her." Wilbur had a dopey smile as he explained.

Techno must have made some sort of 'oh' sound since Wilbur watches him with a smile.

"Why?"

Techno froze. He was glad that Wilbur wasn't with him in real life since he would have immediately caught it.

"I was just wonderin'. Never had that before," He lied, smiling to his brother when he was offered a sympathetic smile. "I made a friend by the way."

A very sweet, genuine smile broke out on his face, "That's amazing, Techno! I'm proud of you!"

Techno rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, his name's Dream. He's very nice, I've met some other people because of him too."

"Dream," Wilbur hummed, seeming to test the name. "I'll have to meet him soon, Techno."

Technoblade rolled his eyes at his brother, "We're in school at the minute, Wil. I'll see if I can convince him to play a game with us at some point."

"Alright. Well, I've got to go, Tech. Call dad at some point, okay?" Techno nodded and got a little wave from his brother. "Bye Techno."

"See ya," Techno mumbled, ending the call. He stared at the blank screen for a moment and stood up to go lay down on his bed.

He stared at the ceiling while he was led down on his bed. Too much of what Wilbur said sounded familiar.

Dream smiling flashed behind his eyes and the warm memory of him pressing kisses across his face flashed back too.

Techno crossed his arms over his face. If he was going off of what Wilbur said, then there was a possibility that he liked Dream.

Was it really that bad, though? Yes! He'd barely known Dream for more than a month and this was the first friend he'd made on his own. Besides, Dream was just getting over a breakup and now was the time he realised his feelings?

A whine escaped his throat when he realised just how pathetic he was. The first friend he made that showed him kindness and affection, he started liking. 

Techno was suddenly glad that his roommate wasn't here. He doesn't think he could deal with them seeing him like this.

Warm liquid started dripping down his face; he took a shaky breath in and roughly pushed his palms into his eyes. Why did he have to start liking one of his closest friends? 

He didn't know how to handle this. He'd barely liked anyone before, maybe when he was a child but not when he was a fully thinking adult.

He choked on a sob, only to cover his mouth with a hand. Hurt curled around his heart and made it ache in pain. It felt like he was dying, heart beating fast and filled with hurt.

The idea of Dream finding out about his feelings and rejecting him with disgust clear on his face appeared behind his eyelids. He felt sick.

Why was he like this? Why did he like Dream? He was meant to be like Wilbur and Tommy, they liked girls. It's not normal for him to like Dream.

Finding a person attractive was different than being attracted to them but he didn't just find Dream attractive. He liked Dream.

Everything hurt. It felt like he was losing himself in the pain of not being normal and liking his friend.

He pushed himself up from his bed for a moment and paced the room. It felt too small and constricting; the walls gave the impression of closing in on him. Roughly, he ran a hand through his hair and tugged at it before crouching down and trying to breathe.

It didn't work and he started panting, desperate for more air. Seeing as being crouched didn't help at all, he pushed himself up again and traced his steps in the room again.

A vibration from his phone on his desk made him choke. He needed to look at it otherwise they would think something is wrong. Sniffling, Techno moved to get his phone. His eyes hurt as he switched it on and squinted at the message, then opened his phone.

Dream. It was from Dream.

'Look at my cat, she's being cute' then there was a picture of his white cat. Spirit? Is what she was called, he thinks.

More tears spilt from his eyes as he tried to smile at the picture. Spirit had her face pressed into his face and she looked content. Gently, he wiped a sleeve under his eyes before resting his hand against his throat. 

Techno tried to type, 'she's so cute' but it came out misspelt since he couldn't see the keyboard properly, it was all blurry.

The phone buzzed in his hand and Dream's name was at the top. 

He answered it. Of course he did.

"Techno? Are you alright?" Dream quickly asked, concern laced in his voice.

"Dream," He whined, pressing the phone to the side of his face. He started pacing his room again, his empty hand burying itself in his hair again. When his hand had fallen from it earlier he didn't know.

"Shit. Technoblade, listen to me, alright?" Techno swallowed and made a sound from his throat. "Okay, where are you? Tell me where you are."

Techno swallowed again to try get moisture in his throat, "I- I'm in my dorm."

"Describe it for me, what's in the room? What does it look like?" Techno gasped for breath, looking around the room for a moment.

"I... it's got white wa-walls. My desk is," Techno paused to take a gasping breath. "Behind my bed. It has a ... a cactus on it."

"Well done, that's so good." Dream praises. Techno sat down on the ground with his back against his bed, listening to Dream. "Technoblade, breathe for me now. You know how right?"

Techno nodded before realising that Dream couldn't see him. "Yeah."

Dream took a couple breaths and Techno noticed he was doing it to help him out. He copied the breaths and felt himself slump against the bed.

When his breaths evened out more Dream seemed to quiet down.

"Dream?" He croaked, putting the phone on speaker then placing it on the floor.

"I'm here. I've got you." Dream breathed. "What happened?"

"Nothing. Emotions just got overwhelming." Techno responded, voice clipped. He didn't want Dream to know.

"Alright," He must have known that wasn't the entirety of it but he was thankful Dream dropped it. 

———

They were closer after that incident.

His feelings didn't change, he still liked Dream but he tried to embrace it in the way Wilbur did. Even if, in the back of his mind, he reminded himself that liking him was wrong.

But that didn't change the fact Dream was his friend and he enjoyed spending time with him.

After a long time, Techno had convinced Dream to come to the library with him and read. It was something that Technoblade had wanted for a while- to just hang out in the library they met in and relax.

Of course, Dream wasn't really interested in reading but that didn't matter. They just spent time together.

Techno was sat on the floor between Dream's legs as he was reading when Dream spoke to him, interrupting the silence.

"If you read it out loud, I'll play with your hair." 

Techno shifted and turned around to look at Dream. He was sat in a chair and the sun was coming through a window, bathing him in a golden light.

He smiled at the boy sitting above him and nodded. Sure, the image of Dream sat above him highlighted by gold looking like a king or a god was now ingrained in his mind, but he didn't allow himself to linger on the others form.

The butterflies in his stomach weren’t so easy to ignore.

Clearing his throat, he sat with his back to Dream again and started reading aloud the Iliad.

Dream's fingers combed through his hair as he spoke, it was almost distracting as the deft fingers would gently smooth out any knots that were in his hair. The hands would twist hair around his fingers and seemed to be trying to figure out braids.

It was a very sweet experience, especially when Dream would interject to ask about what a certain part meant.

Every now and then, one of the librarians would come by and smile at the pair and every time it happened Techno would stumble over his words slightly.

He knew what they thought. They thought the same as the one barista a while ago.

By the time Techno finished reading a lot of the book, Dream had figured out how to do a simple braid. Techno ran his fingers over it when they stood up together.

Maybe it wasn't the best but Dream tried his best.

Before they actually left the library for the day, Techno decided to get a book to leave with. This obviously meant he had to go to the librarians to register he was taking the book but Dream didn't seem to mind waiting.

When he’d finished getting the book, he turned around to go to Dream, only to see him preoccupied with a young-looking woman.

He approached slowly and stood next to Dream. An ugly, burning feeling coiled in his body as he listened to the woman flirt with Dream.

Techno was careful to keep a neutral face as he stayed.

It took a moment for Dream to notice that Techno was waiting at his side. 

“Techno, are you ready?” His voice was gentle and eased. It was nice. His friend looked so pretty as he stood with a smile.

“Yeah,” Techno’s grip tightened on the book as he smiled to the woman waiting awkwardly. 

“It was nice to meet you, have a nice day!” Dream said cheerfully. The woman’s shoulders dropped, probably at the easy dismissal.

They walked together out of the library, Dream absently talking about nonsense to fill the air and Techno was all too happy to listen to him.

Techno glanced over to Dream with a smile. His green eyes were shining as he spoke, moving his hands along with it. Techno could only think that his friend was so perfect.

His easy going nature reminded him absently of his older brother in that moment.

“My brother wants to meet you,” He blurts out, accidentally interrupting Dream the moment he remembers about his brother.

“Your older brother I’m assuming?” Dream looked at him for a moment.

“Yeah, we were talking a bit ago and I mentioned you so he said he wanted to meet my new friend.” Techno explained.

“I’m flattered,” He laughed, smiling across at Techno. “You’ll have to tell him I’d love to meet him.”

“Alright, I’ll set something up for the three of us.” Techno awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck for a moment. “I’ll tell him to behave too.”


	3. If You Ain’t Willing To Dance, What’s The Point?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno falls further down the hole but, on the plus side, Dream gets to meet Wilbur!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry it’s taking so long to update, stuff going on in my personal life. Whelp!   
> I hope you all have or are having wonderful days and enjoy! :)

"Techno!" Dream sung, moving towards him in the café. "Here's your hot chocolate, I know you don't like much cream so there isn't much. I also gave you a coco heart!"

Techno looked down at the drink then looked up at Dream with a smile. He was lingering around and Techno knew it was just so they could be in each other's company for a little longer.

"Thanks, it's cute," Techno chuckles, breaking the momentary silence. The blond gave a smile before he leaned down and pressed a kiss to his temple then wandered off.

For a moment, Techno watched Dream walk back to the counter before turning back to his drink. His shift would be over soon and then they'd spend some time here or wandering around before they went back to Dream's house so they could play and talk with Wilbur.

He glanced up for a moment and noticed Sam watching him, his head slightly tilted. The heat and sharpness that had previously been present weren't there anymore, which he was thankful for.

He didn't particularly enjoy the hostility from someone important in Dream's life.

Then, instead of staying where he was, Sam glanced around and, upon seeing there weren't many customers, approached Techno. It was nerve-wracking in a sense but Sam's nice. And he no longer seems to want his head on a spike. All positives.

"Technoblade, hi," Sam smiled, sliding in the seat opposite him. 

"Hey Sam," He answered. Techno still wasn't quite sure how to interact with Dream's friends but he'd try. "Uhh, how're you?"

An idle hum came from him and he shrugged.

Sam leaned closer to him slightly and scanned his face before a grin spread across his face, "Oh, you know what's going on now too."

Very briefly, a cold chill ran through him along with a large amount of dread. It took a moment for him to understand the tone despite Sam smiling kindly.

"No idea what you're suggestin', Sam." Techno drawled, taking a sip of his drink to hide his smile. He tried to ignore the laugh that came from the man across from him.

"Of course not, Mr Blade." Sam paused for a moment and his eyebrows furrowed, smile faltering. "Seriously though, I'm glad you're aware now, makes it easier to tell you this," 

Techno looked up at Sam and noticed the stern look that was now there. "He is one of my closest friends and deserves a lot more than he's gotten. So, you better not screw him over and please, take care of him. As friends or more, it doesn't matter, look after him. Dream's attached to you now, so there's no getting rid of him."

Techno smiled to himself and stirred his drink, nodding absently. "Alright, I can do that."

A smile appeared on Sam's face once again and he slid out of his seat. The man patted his shoulder as he walked away. 

Perhaps Sam did like him and he was just protective of Dream then. That's a relief.

When Sam got back to the counter, he seemed to be hurrying Dream along, all the while making sure he had all his stuff before he clocked off.

As Dream was walking over to him, he rolled his eyes playfully. The blond offered one of his hands out but quickly noticed the drink still in front of him so he sat down in front of him.

The man's shoulders were low and he was more slumped over than usual.

"How was work?"

Dream offered him a tired smile and leant back in his seat slightly, "It was alright, a couple of people were being sucky but what do expect?"

Techno snorted and offered Dream a spoon with some cream on it. The man leaned forwards again and happily took the spoon in his mouth.

Briefly, he allowed himself to admire Dream's face. The little wrinkles around his eyes and the little freckles splattered across his nose.

"Basic human decency?" He suggested with a laugh. 

A gentle huff came from Dream as he pulled back to sit normally again.

"That's a bit much for some people," He muttered, rolling a shoulder. "Especially Karens."

His face scrunched up in a dumb way but it made affection bloom in his chest.

Maybe coming to terms with liking your friend isn't so bad. Sure, it's been a month or two since the revelation and sure, he might've thought the feelings would have diminished instead of grown by now. But human feelings are weird and unpredictable.

A small part of him is glad it's Dream though. Mostly since he knows that even if Dream doesn't like him the same way, he'd be willing to stay friends. He doesn't think he could bare to lose such a light in his life.

"Techno?" Techno blinked and blinked at Dream for a moment before registering what was happening. "I was asking if I could have a sip."

Techno blinked again before snorting and pushing the drink towards him. "You can have it."

A private smile appeared on his face as he took a sip from the drink he was given.

"Thanks Tech."

Techno couldn't help but smile. He leaned forwards and rested his chin on his palm, simply watching Dream sip happily at his drink.

"How've you been, Techno?" Dream asks, tilting his head. His hair fell into his eyes slightly at the action.

"I'm doin' alright, it's nice to see you. My brother's excited to meet you," Dream's eyebrows raise and he sits up more, eyes ever so slightly brighter.

"I'm excited to meet Wilbur too," Dream smiled, voice light. "Tell me about him?"

"Well, he's British. Tall." Dream scoffed and gave him a look. He couldn't help but grin in response. "Um, he's usually quiet but when he's with other people he lights up. He's musically talented. Oh and he both has a lot of older brother energy and younger brother energy."

A more gentle smile graced Dream's face. It felt as though something as simple as Dream's smile stole his breath away. He looked too soft, he reasoned. It made Techno just wanted to hold the other and take care of him for the rest of their lives.

"Is he as nice as you?" 

Well, that caught him off guard.

The warm fluttery feeling in his chest appeared again at the words. He huffed slightly, trying to hide how flustered he is, and rolled his eyes, "To other people, yes."

Dream laughed lightly and shook his head, taking another sip of his drink.

"I'm going to drink all of this right now so we can hang out at mine for a bit," Dream stated, shovelling down what was left of the cream.

"You'll feel sick." He responded, watching the other shrug before downing the rest of the drink.

Sighing, Techno smiled at the idiocy of the man he's caught feelings for. Why an idiot? 

Techno stood up and offered a hand to Dream, patting his pocket to make sure he still has his phone.

When Dream placed his hand in his own, a strong desire to kiss his hand arose. He could do it.

Quickly, he dismissed the thought. Dream was doing it because it's platonic, he doesn't want to feel like he's taking advantage of his loving nature.

Shaking his head slightly, he pulled himself out of his thoughts and walked with Dream towards his house. 

Along the way, he took pleasure in listening to Dream talk, clicking his fingers occasionally. It was mostly random nonsense but it was Dream talking, so he loved it.

At one point, Dream was so focused on talking that he didn't notice they were in front of a road with cars going past so he had to tug the man back. He stumbled a little bit but quickly caught himself with a sheepish smile.

"Don't try apologisin', just try keep an eye on where we're going. I've got you," Techno murmured, squeezing his hand.

He knew Dream was still getting used to being able to just talk without being told he's annoying, so he remained patient.

The sheepishness dissipated into a shy smile and he raised their hands. Why was he-

Oh.

The moment Dream pressed his lips to the back of his hand, his brain malfunctioned. He was just going through the motions of walking again while his brain repeated what just happened. Was his face probably red? Yes, absolutely.

"My mom's not home for a while, so we can be as loud as we want," Dream smiled at him.

God, that just it worse. He brought his hands up to his face, even the one still linked with Dream's, to hide himself.

"Oh. Oh! Oh, wait," Dream's laugh made him curl into himself more. "That sounded really bad! No, no, I didn't mean it like that!"

"You're killin' me," He grumbled. It was annoying that his voice was high when he said it.

Dream bumped their shoulders together and dragged their joined hands away from his face.

"Come on, we don't have far, then we can- we can- uh, I don't know, do something?" Techno nodded and leaned against Dream more as they continued walking; all the while keeping his head low.

The moment Dream stopped and opened the door to his house, Techno went inside not bothering to wait for his friend.

He ran up the stairs and into Dream's room then flopped down onto his bed. Techno snuggled his face into the duvet and blearily registered that it was just covered by the scent of Dream.

"Can't believe you left me to run upstairs," Dream grumbled as the door opened again. 

He could imagine the slight twist of his lips that came with that tone of his voice. Though, he didn't imagine or expect the sudden weight on his back.

"You're such a dick. Didn't even take your shoes off." Techno lifted his head slightly, only for it to be shoved back down into the covers. He giggled into the covers, shutting his eyes.

Then Dream shuffled on his back and moved lower. He grabbed at Techno's shoes to pull them off, seemingly only to realise they had laces.

Techno wondered what would happen next until he felt the laces of his shoes being undone carefully.

He tried to bury his face further into the sheets at the gesture. Why not just pull them off? God, why is this stupid man so considerate.

When both his boots were taken off, Dream moved off him and led down by his side.

Slowly, Techno lifted his head to look over to Dream. His head was tipped back with his eyes closed and an arm resting behind his head.

Briefly, he pictured waking up to that sight every day. He snapped out of his musings when Dream opened his eyes lazily showing the blueish-green eyes. He turned onto his back to look at the ceiling for a moment.

He could never pin down what colour Dream's eyes were exactly but he couldn't deny they were green, even if he had brown around his pupils.

A smack against his stomach made him turn his head to the blond with a raised eyebrow. Dream grinned at him before he flopped over onto him, laying on his chest. The move winded him for a moment but it was worth it for the content smile that spread across Dream's face.

"You're like cool, you know? Like temperature-wise," He mumbled, pressing his face into Techno's chest more.

Snorting, he dragged a hand up to Dream's hair watching the stands slip through his fingers with an easy smile.

"And you're like a heater," Dream tilted his head up and shuffled up to put his face into Techno's neck.

There was a pause as Dream eased into him.

"Makes us a good pair then," There was a sleepy aspect to his voice that made him inwardly coo.

Techno hummed in answer, allowing himself to carry on with his ministrations. Somehow Dream's hair was always soft.

After a moment Techno closed his eyes, entirely content. The weight of Dream against him was so comforting for some reason. He couldn't tell if it was because he was being crushed by someone who's his friend or if it's because it's Dream specifically.

Eventually, he could feel Dream's breath evening out and, against everything in his body, he gently shook the man to try wake him up.

"You can't fall asleep on me," Techno whispered, nuzzling his face into Dream's hair.

A high pitch whine came from the man and he tried to press even further into him, which should be impossible considering he was already moulded into him.

"Wanna."

Who allowed him to be so cute?

"We're going to meet Wilbur, remember?" It felt more like a final plea but he was lucky it worked well enough.

"Fine," He whined, pulling himself away from Techno with a slight pout. Then Dream moved back to his side, still facing him.

Smiling, Techno cupped Dream's face and placed their heads together. He could feel Dream's breath against his face and an odd sense of contentment washed over him.

When Dream nuzzled closer again, his heart ached. Everything in him longed for this to be permanent, longed to be able to lay like this forever. For Dream to love him the same way. 

It was at that happened that he realised that they would be on call with Wilbur and, while he didn't give Wilbur a lot of slack, he was still very observant. His brother noticed the smallest details about him. 

"Come on, we have to go to your desk. I've got to call Wilbur too," Dream's eyes fluttered open and they locked eyes.

It took a moment for Techno to sit up because of it. The entire moment felt too intimate for friends but Dream was just like that with his friends, as he's seen. So maybe he was overthinking it?

Reluctantly, he broke the eye contact and moved to get off the bed. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed Dream grin before he felt arms around his waist.

Stupid man he loves.

He stopped before he could remove Dream's arms, his mind lingering on the thought.

He loves Dream? 

Slowly, he turned his head to look at Dream; his head was tucked into Techno's side with a smug grin and mischief sparkling in his eyes.

Yeah. That makes sense. He wants to spend the rest of his life with Dream.

Shaking his head, he shoved his hand into Dream's face to move him away. He stood up from the bed and offered his hands out to Dream.

With a pout, Dream placed his hands into Techno's own hands and let himself be pulled up.

"Alright," He muttered, spinning to sit at Dream's desk. "I'm takin' this seat and I'm callin' Wilbur, set your stuff up."

A huff followed his words and he had to hold back a laugh at Dream's grumpiness. He could hear the unhappy movement of him doing as asked behind him.

It took a moment for him to compose himself but when he did, he opened his phone and called Wilbur. Barely a couple seconds past and Wilbur picked up.

"Well! If it isn't the brother who only calls when he remembers me!" Techno rolled his eyes and put him on speaker.

"I didn't even remember you this time."

"I'm telling dad about this! Philza's gonna beat you!" He yelled down the phone. Techno could imagine the fake outrage on his expression.

"You know what, Technoblade!" There was a little pause and he heard Wilbur giggle. "Come on, come on FaceTime, you dick!"

Techno turned to look at Dream for a moment and noticed he'd changed into a pink hoodie of Techno's. In all honesty, he had no idea how Dream got it but he looked cute.

"Techno!" 

He startled out of his staring and looked at his phone unimpressed.

"You can click a button, Wil." He stated, then clicked it before Wilbur could.

Wilbur's face appeared on his phone screen with a scowl that quickly shifted into a surprised grin.

"And who's this in the background then?" There was a slight lilt to his voice as his eyebrows shot up.

"It's Dre-"

"Holy shit! That's Dream? You didn't tell me he was fucking gorgeous." Techno wished he could throw his phone across the room.

He turned around to look at Dream and noticed the slight flush on his cheeks. A small part of him ached at the reaction.

"Hi Dream! I've been waiting months to meet you, my brother has told me about you!" 

Dream's cheeks got more red as he crept closer, a shy smile appearing on his face. He hid slightly behind Techno, a hand snaked down to hold his wrist.

"Hi," 

Techno snapped his gaze away from Dream to Wilbur and he noticed the smugness in his eyes.

"It's lovely to meet you, Dream. How are you?" Internally, he was glad Wilbur toned it down a bit. 

He knew his family could be overwhelming which had previously driven some of his friends away. It was never something he held against them but this time, if it happened, there was no way he wouldn't hold it against them.

"I'm pretty good, Techno has told me a lot about you." The mischief in his tone only meant trouble and he was instantly on guard. "Did you really eat sand when you were young?"

Wilbur spluttered for a moment, eyes flickering between them before he buried his face in his hands. The shaking of his shoulders let him know he wasn't actually offended.

"Technoblade, I trusted you. I'm going to get Tommy in retaliation," He huffed, standing up.

"Wil, don't, please," Something in his voice must've caught Wilbur by surprise as he looked down into the screen. 

After a moment of silence, Wilbur smiled and nodded his head.

"Yeah, alright. The child's a bit over the top," Wilbur conceded. "Have you set stuff up Techno?"

"No, he made me do that," Dream grumbled, poking Techno in the cheek. 

"Unacceptable, we should team up against him." He turned his head in time to see Dream nod his head solemnly.

"Woah! You can't just turn my best friend against me!"

His words were met with silence then Dream let out a little 'awww'.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up." He quickly put the phone down on the desk and placed his hands over his face.

"Alright," Dream drawled, he could hear the dumb smile in his voice. "Hey, Wilbur, how do I set this up?"

Techno zoned out mostly, absently listening to a few moments of their conversation. Quickly, he moved on of his hands to the desk to grab one of the little fidget toys Dream has on his desk. 

Why was one of Dream's fidget toys a chemistry atom toy? He didn't know but it was one of his favourite ones to steal. It made a cool click sound when the atom spheres were connected.

"Techno, everything is set up," Dream's voice was abruptly in his ear and he flinched back slightly. 

The laptop was placed on the desk in front of him then his phone was placed back next to the laptop.

"That didn't take long," He mumbled, glancing up at Dream.

"It took a little while, Tech, like 15 minutes," Dream responded, placing his hand on his head and combing his fingers through Techno's hair. "Oh, you have the atoms."

He hummed then leaned into Dream's hand when it started massaging his scalp.

"Techno, come on! Time to become an even bigger gamer!"

The best thing imaginable happened when Wilbur and Dream played together. All the negative possibilities that had plagued him were wrong. So, so wrong.

Just listening to their back and forth banter made him feel warm. It was like Dream was just another sibling to Wilbur. 

He vehemently ignored the little whispers of weddings and the hazy imaginings of them at an alter.

The best part was when Dream finally clicked on how to play the game and beat Wilbur almost effortlessly. Dream had smiled brightly and clapped before shaking his hands out.

It turned out he was talking to Techno when he won but he completely couldn't hear him and needed Dream to repeat his words afterwards.

Now, not long after Wilbur needed to go, Techno got to cuddle with Dream again. 

It seemed as though meeting a new person wiped it even more out of Dream since when they ended the call he immediately walked over and flopped on his bed.

Then he'd smiled tiredly and patted the space on the bed next to him and who was he to deny his favourite human?

The second he'd got on the bed Dream basically pulled him down and shuffled to get comfortable on him. Techno had already resigned himself to being a pillow for the boy he's in love with.

So while Dream was asleep, he'd fallen asleep very easily, Techno continued combing his fingers through Dream's hair. Though, he wasn't entirely paying attention to what he was doing.

His mind was preoccupied with ways he could show Dream his feelings. He wasn't like Wilbur; he didn't have the musical talent to serenade him.

Dates were a good way, right?

God, he wouldn't even know what to do for a date. What did Dream like for romantic situations?

Maybe he could also show Dream his love in other ways? Like giving him spoken affections. Not that he doesn't anyway but just more.

Perhaps he'd have to conspire with Sam.

He was pulled out of his thoughts and when Dream made a weird sound in his sleep. It was like he was trying to talk but his mouth was closed.

The little moment ended with Dream huffing and snuggling his face against him. Techno really didn't expect Dream to be so cuddly in his sleep but considering how touchy he is awake, he supposes he should have expected it.

He could feel his own eyes get heavy from the warmth. So before he fell asleep, he turned his head and pressed a kiss onto Dream's temple.

—————————

The amount of time it took for him to meet up with Sam is unbelievable.

He could've done it over text but Sam insisted that they absolutely needed to have this meeting face to face.

When he walked into the café, he noticed the girl that had tried to give Dream her number from a while ago.

"Okay, brainstorm, we both know Dream, right?" Techno stared at Sam incredulously for a moment.

"Sam, I'm not gonna lie, you're not giving me much hope here, man." He joked, watching Sam roll his eyes.

"I can just not help you, Technoblade."

"Wait, no, no! 'S alright, sorry. Sorry." Techno grinned.

"Yeah, whatever," He muttered quietly, clearly trying to hide his smile. "Anyways, we know Dream likes food, you could take him on a normal date?"

Techno hummed, nodding his head absently as he took a moment to process his words.

"What about like aquariums?" He suggested, opening his notes app to write the ideas down.

"That's good. He likes walking at night, so perhaps you guys could do that at one point?" Techno nodded, smiling gently to himself.

"We could go to an arcade," Techno mumbled before laughing to himself. "Or have a minecraft date."

Sam's eyes widened and he grinned maniacally, "Maybe minecraft date first, but don't ask him to a parkour map."

Curiosity piqued inside of him. 

"Why not?" 

"You might think you're good but he- he's spent a lot of time playing on those types of maps," Sam laughed, a mixture of fondness and exasperation in his tone.

Techno smiled to himself, imagining Dream's focused face. He thinks it's cute. Fuck, everything about Dream he thinks is cute.

"Fine, I'll concede this time," He muttered, eyes moving down to the table.

"What're you thinking of doing first?"

Pursing his lips, he thought on it for a moment. The minecraft date could be considered a joke but both he and Dream like minecraft. Besides, that would probably be the easiest to start with.

"Think I'll do a minecraft date." Sam nodded, a smile crossing his face.

"Well, I wish you luck in your endeavours, Techno. I can't wait to hear all about it." Sam flashed a warm smile before standing and leaving him alone for a moment to grab a drink. They still had more to talk about.

Techno leaned back in his seat for a moment though. He would need luck for Dream to realise he's in love with him and for the blonde to actually accept or maybe reciprocate. It'd be worth it, no matter if it works or not.


End file.
